Dajuma temple festival

Besides Nyepi related ceremonies dealing with, if you well remember, 3 main rituals: purification of Hindu bodies and souls, chasing of demons, and silent and peaceful introspection, there is the so-called temple festival locally known as the “Odala ritual”. This stands for the anniversary of the temples built after a new land has been found or the ancestral shrines every family owns. This anniversary takes place every 210 days, on new moon or full moon, and is carried out with all the well known Bali’s artistic inputs with dancers, offerings, colorful paintings and decorations made of coconut, bambu and banana trees as well as umbrellas and long flags (“umbul-umbul”). This year, Dajuma’s Temple Festival coincided with the purification ceremony to protect each building built on Dajuma land. This festival happens usually within the first year of the inauguration of a new land. But since the beginning we knew that we were going to have several stages of development and it was decided to wait for their completion before organizing the ceremony. This 3 day ceremony requires to sacrify for Gods: one Lamb, one Pig, one Dog, Ducks and Chickens. All black. No body knows the reason but we can tell you that it took them 1 month to find the pure black Lamb. The sacrificed animals were taken to the ocean by traditional “Praho”. Once back to the shore, people pray together and dance back to the main Temple. The priest then closes the ceremony and speaks on behalf of the Gods who express their thanks about the offerings and their happiness to be together with the spirits living at Dajuma. He advises the employees to carry on doing small offerings on a daily basis. A final common praying session takes place and gives the floor to musicians and dancers who stay late in the evening to entertain employees, Gods and spirits. The next morning, all Dajuma holy symbols of Gods are put back in their home “Dajuma Temple”. This year festival did not leave anyone indifferent. Just memorable !